Tony Flannery gives his thoughts on the election campaign. "please, whoever is elected, put your personal ambitions to one side, and don't think only of your local area, but rather of the good of the country as a whole, and give us a government that will, in so far as it is possible, govern with wisdom and discernment, and for the good of all the people. And most of all, stop shouting at each other, and try to listen instead!."

Before the politicians go on their long, well-deserved break for the summer holidays, there was that small matter of a cabinet reshuffle. Out with the old guard and in with the new. Sort of. Though some of the old stagers …

Jesuit priest, Thomas Reese, writing in the National Catholic Reporter, comments on the meeting of U.S. bishops. The meeting could be a turning point but he asks, will they sail with the Francis wind or will they buck the waves of change?

Brendan Hoban reviews the fate of white collar criminals in Ireland and concludes that those whose irresponsibility and greed during the Celtic Tiger has placed an albatross around the necks of Irish people will be drinking champagne rather than languising in Mountjoy(first published in the Western People on 10 November).

Noel Whelan believes rules published by church authorities alienate those we should be trying to attract. (First published in the Irish Timesof 17 August 2013 under the heading Hostility to funeral eulogies reflects an unchristian disregard for need to grieve: read original article and comments here.)